The Bane of Konoha
by ZenoNoKyuubi
Summary: At age four, Naruto, believed to be the son of the Yondaime, is kidnapped by Iwa ninjas and put in the worst, most brutal prison in Rock Country. There, he grows up into a legend, a lethal, musclebound genius, who adopts the name... Bane!
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, this is my first ever DC crossover. You may find that part of it is taken from the now deleted Jinchuuriki Mercs. Well, I thought that part was kinda good, so I brought it over to this story. Please let me know what you think of it!**

–

_Most stories begin with a birth, the raising of said child, the path to adulthood, and the accomplishments the child makes in its adult life. This story, however, is a little different. Sure, Bane had a very interesting birth, a birth more interesting than any birth I've ever known about, _but_... what is more interesting than anything... is Bane's _creation_. The Solid Stone Prison of Iwa is the toughest, most brutal prison known to man. When he was no more than four years old, the boy, claimed to be the son of the late Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, was kidnapped by Iwa ninja, and brought to Solid Stone to sit a life sentence in place of his father._

_A female prisoner was sent there as well, to guard him, to make sure that Bane was to grow up to see that his life sentence wasn't too short. They were kept in protective care in the prison's infirmary. I was there, assigned to Dr. Miyamoto, consigned to Solid Stone for thirty years. Call me Zombie. It's the name given to me there._

_I watched the boy grow over the years, even as I watched his guardian waste away. Dr. Miyamoto saw nothing. I could see her dying a little each day. Hope is a living thing. It must be nurtured._

_But the boy was still a boy. He grew, he thrived. He knew no other place. He learned every hidden corner of Solid Stone. Every secret. It was there that he learned life. And at far too tender an age, he learned of other things._

_By the boy's sixth year, his guardian had given up all life. I alone tended to her in those last days. She was a farm girl, who could not survive being hidden from the sun, and so far from Kami._

_The boy would not allow himself a tear. He had become as hard as this place. His guardian was weak. For that, she died. She was denied a funeral. Her corpse was thrown from a cliff, the boy watching, to be food for the sharks that gathered there. And the boy was to be thrown to the animals within the walls..._

"Your guardian has left you quite alone, little one," said Warden Tekken as a young, six-year old boy stood in front of his desk in the lush office. The boy was wearing tattered pants and the standard light brown prison shirt, and his hair was yellow and spiky. "She has left you without a single guardian but the state, understand? But the state is no one's mother. You cannot expect the same treatment. You must fend for yourself, little one. I am releasing you from protective custody and into general population. That is all."

The warden had a cruel smirk on his face when he said this, glaring down at the boy, who flinched.

_Only a child, and set down among the beasts of Solid Stone. I was restricted to the infirmary block and could not watch over him._

"Boy, what has brought you here?" came a voice through the bars, from the neighboring cell as the boy sat in his bed, hugging his teddy bear close to him. "You look frightened. And so much alone."

The boy looked to his left, to see a very large, bald man with a nose ring that had a chain attached to it, and went to his left ear, where another gold ring was.

"Come closer, boy. Do not fear me. I will protect you from the others. In this place, you must have friends," the man said. When the boy didn't answer, the man gave a very cruel grin, nodding. "Alright, then. We will become good friends tomorrow."

_The first night among the beasts was a hundred years long... Even so, its end came much too soon..._

The boy gulped as he stepped out of his cell, and immediately found someone behind him, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"We will become friends today, eh? You would like to work for me, would you not, boy?"

Before the boy could answer, another voice came from the shadows of another cell.

"The boy does not want your filthy hands on him, pig," the man said, a hulking, hairy, muscle-bound man, who looked like he could snap the boy's spine in half without so much as breaking a sweat.

"What business is it of yours, eh?" the fat man asked, spinning around to look at the new man.

"Everything on this block is my business."

The boy's fear grew. This second man was even more fearsome than the first.

_His name was Goken, and he had killed more than twenty men inside Solid Stone Prison._

"Release him!"

"He's mine! One so small as this can slip beneath the notice of the guards. He will be useful to me."

"I said..." the new man said, and in a flash, he had cocked his fist back and slugged the fat man on the mouth, knocking him off his feet. The fat man his the ground with a thump. "...release him..."

The fat man got to his feet, but stumbled as he did. He stumbled into the boy, knocking him over the railing. The cells were three floors up, and the fall was a long one. The boy smashed his skull against the hard stone floor, blood immediately pooling around him as he lay motionless on the ground.

_The boy died that day. And the _man_ was created._

The boy slowly opened his eyes, to find himself surrounded by darkness. Getting to his feet, he looked around, and saw a few feet away from him his teddy bear, standing on two feet and slowly walking away from him.

"Teddy?" the boy asked as he ran after the teddy bear. "Where are you going, Teddy?" Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him, blinding him and making him shield his eyes. "Light... It hurts... Is someone there?"

"ONLY YOURSELF!" a voice boomed. The boy lowered his hand, and saw before him a powerhouse of a man, heavily muscled, even more so than the man who had punched the fat man.

"Only myself?" the boy asked, blinking, then pointed up at the man. "But you are here!"

"We are one," the man said, pointing at the boy. "I am as you will be many years from now."

"You are me?" the boy asked in shock.

"What you will become," the man said with a proud smile. "A physical and mental paragon. The living embodiment of human superiority. The blood of kings runs in you! The blood of your father! The world is yours, and will _be_ yours one day. Men will be like cattle before you. Like sheep. For only a few may rule the many, and you are one of a rare breed. Only one danger stands in the way of your mastering the world."

"What is that?" the boy asked.

"Fear," the man said and pointed into the distance behind the boy. "The fear that lies at the heart. Only this can keep you from what is yours." The boy saw something over there, a shadowy outline of some massive beast, with nine long tails swirling behind it. "Conquer the fear in your heart, and you may have anything that you desire. You will be second to no man... and master of _all_."

"No..." the boy whispered as the beast moved closer, opening its massive maw and lunging at him.

"NOOO!" the boy cried as his eyes shot open, and he found himself in a bed in the infirmary, a bandage around his head, with that skinny, short haired man known as Zombie standing next to his bed.

_He returned to the world from his coma thirty-one days after his fall. He returned no longer a child..._

"Are you sleeping?" the fat man, lying in his bed in his cell, groggily opened his eyes, to see the boy standing in the doorway.

"Huh? Boy? I thought you had died..."

"The boy _is_ dead, pig," the boy said, and something very sharp was glinting in his hand. The fat man felt very vulnerable all of a sudden, and sweat broke out on his brow. "But _I_ am here. Do you still want me to work for you?"

"N-No... Don't..."

_It was a simple thing to follow the trail of blood... And so he was named..._

"It was the boy!" the warden cried as two guards charged into the boy's cell, eyes wide as the boy sat on his cot, covered in blood. "By Kami, he has turned feral! I will not have such abominations in my prison! He is a _bane_ to all that is holy!"

"The weapon, boss," one of the guards said as the other shackled the boy with shackles that were much too big for him. The guard had found it under the boy's mattrass. "It is covered in blood, as the boy is."

"Throw him in the Hole. The chains will fit snug before he sees the light of the sun again!" the warden said, and the boy gave him a terrifying grin.

"I spoke to my guardian last night, warden," the boy said, chuckling menacingly. "She says they stoke a special fire for you..."

"THROW HIM IN THE HOLE!" the warden yelled. "He will have hair on his chest before I release him!"

_The words had shaken the warden... And many heard them..._

_The Hole was dug out fifty years ago. Those sent there were told to pray for deliverance. The only deliverance found there was madness or death... and the boy would surrender to neither. And he would not surrender to the fear. He would _become_ fear._

_He stared into the darkness of that pit and became a part of it. And he purged fear from his heart. And he survived. The cell was below the level of the sea at high tide. And each night the ocean would flood it. And each night, he would fight for his life._

_Hatred gave him the strength to hold on. Hatred and the promise of the man he would _become_. He learned to welcome the nightly visits of the sea. It allowed him to mark the days. It brought him food. It brought him life._

_And in all those days, he heard no voice but his own. Welded into a five-by-ten foot cell. His entire world was the length of three short paces. They could not confine his mind. In his mind, he traveled beyond his tomb. He traveled outside those walls using meditation techniques all his own. He had no words for these techniques. They grew from utter desolation and crushing boredom._

_He roamed worlds undreamed of. Space and time were playthings to him. And in each place, he sought out the fox-thing that roamed in his heart. And there he stood before it, stood in its shadow and defied it... and finally killed it... Fear died in him._

_One day, he received a note via messenger bird. The note depicted a bird, and underneath the drawing was the word 'BIRD.' The word meant nothing to him. He had not yet learned to read._

_More than four thousand days Bane was down in that pit. More than ten years of waiting. He embarrassed the warden by refusing to die. He was released in the hope that someone would seek revenge for Pig's murder. But the warden did not realize what Bane had become to the lost and the damned of Solid Stone. He had become a legend._

_And many wanted his favor, and many wanted to serve him. One was the former Kumo ninja named Tori. They made a deal. Tori would teach him, and Bane would help Tori break out._

_Bane became a model prisoner... a tame animal. The warden allowed him to work in the library. There were thousands of books there. And the books brought the world to him. Tori taught him how to read. Soon, he was reading three books a day. There was power in knowing things. When he had consumed all of the prison library, he sought more._

_Where others had drugs and tobacco and sweets smuggled in, Bane used his network to bring him books. Hundreds of books on every subject matter. And as he improved his mind, he improved his body. A thousand push-ups each day, a thousand sit-ups, a thousand pull-ups, and instead of sleep, he meditated four hours each night. And each day of the year brought him closer to the image of perfection in his mind._

_His reign over the lost and forgotten of Solid Stone did not go unchallenged. Many coveted his position and power. But they had only brutality and greed to give them strength. Bane drew his power from the very rock of this place. No one would take that from him._

_One day, for reasons unknown to me, Bane seemed to snap. For some reason, he started raising hell in the mess hall, and started killing his fellow inmates. The warden was more than satisfied to see the inmates annihilate one another. But when Bane's body count reached more than thirty men, it became a serious matter. They brought him down like an animal. They removed him to isolation. He was there only a few days when I saw the strangers in the infirmary._

Zombie watched as three doctors were working on an inmate, who was strapped down to an operating table, writhing in pain. Behind two of the doctors, in front of the head doctor, the warden stood, looking over the writhing inmate, who suddenly stopped moving.

"This is the fifth inmate who has died from these injections," the warden said coldly. "What is the object of these experiments?"

"A new nerve toxin? The formula for a super soldier? Some military application, I'm certain," the head doctor said. "What is your concern? Afraid that you'll run out of prisoners?" The doctor chuckled and looked down at the prisoner, the shook his head and turned away from the corpse, and now, Zombie could see the doctor's eyes. They were a strange yellow, with slitted pupils... Something about that man thoroughly intimidated Zombie. "Dead," the head doctor said, shaking his head. "The cretin's heart exploded. I'll need another subject immediately. Can you get me a strong one this time, warden? One that will last more than three days?"

"I have just such a man in isolation at the moment," the warden said with a chuckle.

_I could not get to Bane to warn him. What could he have done in any case? Th lab building was new, built by Iwa to house this experiment. They had already killed five men with their drugs. I watched them carefully as they subjected him to different chemical variations on a single formula. They called it Venom._

_His body rebelled against the series of injections... rebelled and triumphed. So easy to obtain a sample of the drug while Bane provided a distraction._

_The experimenters were pleased at his progress. When he survived the drugs, the surgery began. Implants were placed inside his skull. They could administer the drug directly into his brain now. The other subjects had died long before this. He knew that this was the last step on the way to becoming the perfect self._

_I would have to be able to replicate this Venom so that Bane could transcend to his ultimate form. I had done this many time in designing narcotics for my former employers. But never had I seen any combination so complex. Complex, but easily copied. A super steroid derived from a drug codenamed Venom. It also contained elements that would stimulate the adrenal glands. Another ingredient targeted the Corpus Callosum segment of the brain. This drug would ultimately fuse the right and left hemispheres of the brain._

_Bane was most pleased. He whispered his plan to me as he lay in his bed, tubes in his nose and the back of his head._

_It was simplicity itself. He only had to die. He willed his vital signs below the place where their machines could find them. And so he followed his guardian. Out to the cliff. For the first time since he was four years old, he would be leaving Solid Stone. In the belly of a shark._

_They had not killed him. They had only made him stronger. He was a free man for the first time since he was four. And yet he returned to Solid Stone. He returned from the dead, returned from freedom. He returned for _us_. And our loyalty to him grew even stronger._

_The world was his._

_Even the elements conspired with him. The fools in the prison gave in to our demands to save their precious warden. Even if we had died that night, it was still a victory._

_Bane dropped the warden down a cliff, along with his old teddy bear, so that the warden wouldn't have died alone. Heh..._

_Months passed as we moved to Konoha. Tori used his connections to secure us false identities. With the help of Goken's talents for the electronics and my knowledge of pharmaceuticals, we created a device for Bane._

_Bane grew restless as we worked. His system was dependent on the modified Venom formula now..._

_We fitted the headpiece. We attached the feed ports. And we gave him a way to supply himself with the Venom at will._

Bane, once known as Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, a name long forgotten, stood in the old apartment that he, Tori, Goken, and Zombie were hiding out in. He wore a pair of heavy combat boots, baggy, black cargo pants, a black tank top, black, fingerless gloves that went up to mid-forearm, and a black mask that had something of a white skull pattern painted on the front, with red, reflective lenses for the eyes. Attached to the back of his head were four tubes, which connected to a box at the base of his neck. From there, a tube went down to his forearm, where the control device for the Venom supplier was fitted. Bane clutched his fist.

"I am complete!"

–

"So, what do we do now?" Tori asked as he sat in the window of their apartment, a bird resting on his knee, chirping happily. Bane stood in the center of the living room, his massive arms crossed over his muscled chest.

"Konoha treated me worse than Solid Stone could ever have done," Bane spoke slowly. "It will burn for that. However, for now, I need to refine the Venom formula. Although powerful, it is incredibly flawed. Isn't that right, Zombie?"

"That's right," Zombie said, nodding. "It's a very complex formula, but it is, as you said, very flawed. I am sure we could refine it and get even more power out of it."

"But for that, we will need the creator's notes, and I know just where to get them."

"Oi, oi, oi," Tori said, his eyes widening as he got off the windowsill, standing up. "Don't tell me we're going back to Rock Country!"

"Of course not. The man who created the Venom formula lives elsewhere, in the newly created Otogakure, from what I have gathered, in Rice Field Country."

"His name?" Goken asked from the couch in the living room, lounging on it lazily.

"Orochimaru."

And so, Bane and his group found themselves leaving Fire Country for Rice Field Country, where they were to search for Otogakure.

"How about this place?" Tori asked, stopping in a place called Post Town, in front of a club as he stared at the sign in front of him. On the sign was a blond woman, laying on her stomach with her eye closed in a wink. "Club Lie-Down? Sounds like my kind of club!"

"We are not here to enjoy ourselves," Bane said coldly. "But this could be a good place to get some information. Just don't spend all our money."

"I could use a drink," Goken said, nodding as the four of them headed inside.

–Inside Club Lie-Down–

"This place was a lot better than I would have imagined," Zombie said as he sat on a couch with his companions. Tori had a cute little brunette in his lap, grinning widely.

"Looks can be deceiving," Bane said simply, then looked to the cute brunette, Momiji. "Do you know anything about Otogakure?"

"Otogakure? Why do you want to know about that village? It's vile," Momiji said, looking a bit intimidated by Bane's appearance.

"We just thought we might check the place out, though we don't know where it is."

"W-Well, I'm sorry, but I don't know more than you do..."

"Did I hear you right? Are you looking for information on Otogakure?" said a woman, walking up to him. She had long, curly, blond hair and was wearing a long, purple dress which showed a nice amount of her cleavage and had a slit on her side, showing off one of her sexy long legs.

"Yeah."

"My name is Ririsu, and I have a friend who knows a lot about Otogakure. If you want, I can introduce you to him."

"Really?" Bane asked with a raised eyebrow, although no one could see it, getting a nod from Ririsu, who started walking towards the exit.

"Yes. Are you and your friends coming?"she asked as Bane got up.

"I'm coming. My friends stay here. They could use a break."

Ririsu looked a little weary, but nodded nonetheless as she led Bane outside. They walked around the corner of Club Lie-Down until they got to an alley. Ririsu stopped at the entrance of it.

"His house is at the end of this alley," she said and pointed at something that couldn't really be called a house. It looked more like a rundown shack.

"Are you coming with me?" Bane asked curiously, getting a negative response from Ririsu.

"No. I have to go back to work," she said and Bane nodded.

As soon as he'd gotten to the middle of the alley, wooden planks suddenly blocked his way in both ends of it.

"As expected," he mused.

"Well, look what we have here. A trapped rat," A man called out.

Bane looked up to see about thirty bandits, all equipped with bows and arrows. Standing on top of the alleyway arch was a man wearing a white and purple sleeveless haori with brown pants and shirt and a large sword strapped to his back while being surrounded by two bandits on both sides.

"Are you sure this man's got money, Ririsu?" the leader asked as he turned to the blond woman who walked up to stand next to him with a smirk on her face.

"I'm sure. I saw his money with my own two eyes. I'm going to try to lure his other friends out later," she said while Bane just stared at her in amusement.

"Saying things like that... I'm beginning to think that you lied to me."

"Shut up!" the leader shouted and looked at his fellow bandits. "Finish him!"

"Yes, boss!" the bandits exclaimed in unison as they pulled back their bows, the arrowheads gleaming dangerously.

"Hey, asshole! This is what happens when you let the wrong head do the thinking!"

"No, I thought with the right head," Bane said thoughtfully. "I sensed a lie coming from her, but I also sensed that she was telling me the truth about Otogakure. By the way, I don't think that you're using your own head to think. I mean, attacking me was probably the worst thing you could have done, you fools."

"That's it! Kill him!" the leader ordered, making Bane chuckle as he closed his muscles tensed. The bandits let their arrows fly towards Bane who burst into motion, moving at a speed that seemed impossible for a man his size, dodging each and every arrow with ease.

"Nice try," Bane said calmly, staring up at the leader. "But that's not gonna work against me."

"You bastard!" the leader growled.

"In all seriousness, do you know anything about Otogakure or not?"

"Why would you want to know something like that? Are you a ninja?"

"Something like that," Bane lied.

"Interesting! Well even though we're thieves now, we are also known as the Fuuma clan of Rice Field Country. In return for your life and your money, we can let you join us," the leader said, making Bane snicker.

"You guys are ninjas?" he asked with a grin hidden behind his mask. "Don't make me laugh! What's your name?"

"I'm Fuuma Hanzaki, leader of the Fuuma clan here in Post town!" the leader said, puffing out his chest in pride.

"Leader, huh? Fine then, Hanzaki-san. I challenge you for your place as head. Do you accept?" Bane asked, his hand resting on the dial on the back of his hand, which controlled his Venom injection.

"My place as head?" Hanzaki asked, his eyes wide, just like everyone around him. "Are you serious?"

"What's wrong? Afraid you might lose?"

"I'm gonna make you regret that. I accept!" Hanzaki shouted as he took the sword off his back. Bane just scoffed.

"Come at me any way you like."

Hanzaki growled and jumped down towards Bane, his zanbatou raised above his head.

"Fuuma Ninken: Zanbatou (Fuuma Ninja Sword: Slicing Blade)!" he shouted as he attempted to cut Bane, who raised his hands, and caught the blade between his palms. He then lashed out with a kick, knocking Hanzaki back and forcing him to let go of the sword.

Bane threw the sword to the side and turned the Venom dial, pumping the drug directly into his brain. His muscles contracted, veins started popping all over his arms, and his muscles started growing to twice the size they had been before. Bane charged forward and punched the leader of the Fuuma clan into the ground. He pulled the man to his feet, and delivered a beating that he made sure that Hanzaki would never, ever, forget.

When Hanzaki was beaten black and blue, Bane grabbed the man's collar and cocked his fist back. Even more veins popped in his arm as his muscles tightened, and he threw his punch.

The force of the punch was so great that it actually sent Hanzaki flying through the planks that were blocking the exit, leaving a Hanzaki shaped hole in them.

"You bastard!" one of the bandits on the archway shouted as he jumped down. "How dare you attack our leader?"

"He accepted my challenge and lost. I am your leader now," Bane said simply. The other bandit on the archway growled as he too jumped down.

"We'll never accept you as our leader! We're gonna make you pay for this!"

"Wait!" came Hanzaki's voice from the hole in the planks. He crawled inside and painfully stood up.

"Oh? You're still conscious? I guess I underestimated you," Bane said simply as he clenched his fists, his knuckles popping. "Do you still wanna fight?"

Hanzaki stood there for a few seconds, before falling to his knees and bowing.

"I sincerely apologize to you, boss! I've never felt such a powerful attack before! Can you please tell us the name of our new leader?"

"That's right, I forgot to introduce myself..." Bane said and turned the dial on the back of his hand, his muscles slowly shrinking down to their normal size. "I... am _Bane_," he said, making Hanzaki go bone white. He immediately turned to his companions.

"You all better bow down and beg for your lives! This guy is menace of Solid Stone! You'll all be killed otherwise!"

Hearing the name Solid Stone, everyone went wide eyed as they all fell to their knees.

"We humbly apologize for our rudeness, boss! We didn't know who you were! Please forgive us!" Hanzaki pleaded.

"Please forgive us!" the other members of the Fuuma clan pleaded in unison. They heard snickering coming from the entrance of the alley. They all turned to see Tori leaning against the hole in the planks.

"Well, well, well. We leave you alone for a few minutes and you manage to get yourself a whole clan," he said with a smirk plastered on his face.

"It's good that Hanzaki-san knew when to give up," came Goken's voice from above. "I'm too full to enjoy a good fight right now. I might've gone cranky."

"You're always cranky, and there's no way you could ever get full," Zombie said calmly, standing on the opposite side of the alley.

Bane crossed his arms as he stared down at Hanzaki.

"Now, how about we go back inside? We can talk more in there."

–

**So, what do you think? The updates may be very slow, but I have no intention of abandoning this story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! Second chapter. It may feel a bit forced and/or rushed, and that's because... it was... I had a hard time getting from Point A to Point B, so... Yeah...**

–

Bane sat down in a couch, Hanzaki and Ririsu sitting in front of him.

"So, what do you need to know, boss?"

"Do you have any spies inside Otogakure?" Bane asked, getting a nod from Hanzaki.

"Yes, boss. I'm one of them," Ririsu said. "I usually go there to visit my uncle. He's in prison for stealing. While I'm there, I usually try to find out as much as I can. We have a few Oto ninjas who report to us as well. Though we haven't been able to find Orochimaru's lairs."

"Lairs?"

"Yes. One of our spies told us that he changes location every two weeks."

Bane crossed his arms in thought. Finding the formula would be much different if he had multiple lairs. However, Bane would find it, he was sure of it. He had to, in order to become the ultimate being!

Bane rose from his seat and turned his back on Hanzaki and Ririsu. He glanced at them over his shoulder and said, "Keep up your spying. My companions and I will track down Orochimaru's lairs. He has something I need."

And so, Bane and his group left Post Town. Bane felt very... lost as he walked through Rice Field Country. He felt blind, somehow. In Solid Stone, he had had people everywhere, who reported all the goings on in the prison to him. Nothing that happened in that prison escaped Bane's notice, but now, out there in the world, Bane had no one to report to him the happenings around him. He would need to build up his network again. By the end, there would be no place in the Elemental Countries that anyone could hide from him, he'd make sure of it...

It took a long time, a week to be precise, and a lot of painstaking searching, but in the end, they found one of Orochimaru's lairs. It was out in the ocean, just outside Rice Field Country.

It looked completely deserted, yet somehow it seemed as though the place was in working order. No doubt, Orochimaru had just left the lair, and they would have it for themselves for at least two weeks.

As Bane searched the lair, he traveled downward several floors alone, with Goken, Tori and Zombie all taking their own floors to search, wary of any traps that may be there.

When Bane reached the foot of the staircase, he found himself in a long corridor, lined with bars. Inside the massive cells was a large amount of men and women dressed in rags, some lounging around in their boredom, others playing dice with dirty and chipped dice. They all looked up when Bane approached the cell to his left.

"Huh? Who are you?" One of the prisoners asked, looking up from his dice game to stare at the stranger, who grabbed the bars with both hands.

"If I were to get you out of here, would you do me a favor?"

Everyone perked up at the prospect of being free, but the dice player looked a bit wary.

"That all depends. What's the favor?"

"I want you all to go out in the world and spread a message for me, and I want you to serve as my spies wherever you may end up," Bane said, a smirk behind his mask. "The message is this: 'Bane came and saved us. He is here to bring order to the chaos.' Will you deliver this message to the people of the world?"

"I don't know about everyone else, but I'm tired of staying in here," the dice player said as he rose to his feet. "I'll do it."

"Me too."

"I will."

"Yeah."

One after the other, the prisoners stood up, and Bane chuckled, before turning his Venom dial and pulling on the bars. Two loud, metallic _SNAP_'s echoed through the corridor as the two bars were pulled off, allowing the prisoners to go through.

"My agents can be found at Club Lie-Down in Post Town," Bane said, walking up to the cell on the right side of the corridor and repeating the act of pulling the bars off. "Relay any and all information on the goings on in the world to them, and they will relay it to me. I am Bane. You do not wish to cross me."

Cheering, the prisoners charged out of their cells and up the stairs, leaving Bane alone. For some reason, he felt it best to stay down there, as though there was something else he needed to find down there. Nodding to himself, he started walking down the corridor, turning off his Venom supply with his muscles shrinking down to their normal size.

As he walked, a girl came into view in front of him. She had red eyes, red hair worn in an unusual hairstyle: her hair was short and spiky on the right side, while longer and straight on the left side giving half her hair the appearance of being unkempt on one side, while the other side was neat. She wore brown glasses, and her outfit consisted of a lavender uniform, short black shorts, and long black thigh-high stockings with black sandals.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the girl demanded, looking to be around Bane's age. She glared heatedly at Bane, who tilted his head to the side.

"I am Bane. And you are?"

"I am Karin, I am in charge of this base!" the girl said, still glaring at Bane. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll leave now!"

"Or what?" Bane asked simply, taking a threatening step toward her. The girl instinctively took a step back, but caught herself and took a step forward, trying to appear intimidating. Bane wasn't fooled, however. He could easily see the fear in her eyes, the same fear that he had once felt. Turning the dial on his glove, the Venom was pumped into his brain, and his muscles grew in size, making Karin's eyes widen.

"Venom!" she gasped in shock, and Bane perked up, staring at her.

"Girl, you know what this is?" he asked, taking another step toward her. "Where are Orochimaru's notes on the Venom formula? Tell me, or I will break you!"

Karin turned and started running, but thanks to the Venom coursing through his muscles, Bane dashed forward, easily catching up with her and grabbing the scruff of her neck, lifting her into the air and turning her to face him.

"Tell me what I want to know... and keep in mind that I can snap your neck like a chicken's. I am not one to be toyed with..."

"U-Upstairs..." the girl gasped, trying to breathe as Bane switched his grip so that his hand was wrapped firmly around her throat. "I-In one o-of the l-l-labs..."

"Take me there."

–

"Here..." Karin muttered as Bane stood inside a dusty old lab with the rest of his group. Karin opened a safe and took out a small steel box handing it over to Bane. "That holds the scroll with everything Orochimaru-sama has on the Venom, and a sample of a refined formula."

Bane took the box and thanked her, before turning around and walking off.

Bird had long since taught Bane about chakra, so walking on water was now child's play for him. Chakra control was something Bane had grasped relatively easily. He had some trouble in the beginning, given his large amount of chakra, but he had eventually gotten it. Therefore, getting to and from the island was easy for them, especially since the prisoners had taken all the boats.

Now, Bane was back in Konoha, and Zombie was researching the refined Venom formula, to make sure it was safe. In the meantime, Bane sat in the center of his living room, meditating and forming his plans. Konoha would burn, but first, he needed to come up with a way to do so.

"Tori," Bane spoke up suddenly as he got to his feet. The bird-loving Kumo ninja, sitting in the window, looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "How high up are your connections?"

"Some of them are pretty high up, I suppose," Tori said, shrugging. "Why?"

"I want to know how this village is run. I want to know who makes the big decisions, I want to know who we'll have to kill."

"What's the plan?" Goken asked, looking up from where he was watching Zombie working, pouring over Orochimaru's scroll.

"Chaos, that's the plan," Bane spoke as he crossed his arms and moved over to the window. "We will introduce chaos to this false order, and then build up a new order from the ashes. But for that, we need information on the inner workings of Konoha's government. The Sandaime Hokage is not as in charge as he would lead people to believe. There is someone else, pulling the strings from behind the scenes."

"Could be the Council," Tori theorized with a shrug, getting a look from Bane. Nodding, he explained, "There is a Council in a seat of power in this village, consisting of three parts from what I have gathered: the Elders, the Civilian Sector, and the Clan Heads. From what I've heard, they hold some power, but they could hold more."

"Then the Council is what we have to target in order to make this village leaderless," Bane said as he walked over to the door, opening it. "I will go look around and see what I can find out."

With that, he left.

Bane walked through the streets of Konoha, drawing strange looks due to his appearance. Many of them were used to weird people, however, and didn't look twice at Bane, who just kept walking. It felt so different, walking down the street without getting those hateful looks he used to get when he was a child and wanted to go out and play. He didn't remember much from his days in Konoha, but he remembered the hate. The glares, the disgust... It had all almost been too much for the poor child. Kami only knew what Bane would have grown up to become if he hadn't been kidnapped and sent to Solid Stone...

This village was so new to him, yet so familiar. As a child, Bane had only seen beauty when he saw the village. Now, however, he only saw corruption, greed, hatred, no matter where he looked. From the smallest child to the oldest man, he saw only bad things.

–

At Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, once known as the Special Ninja Felony Prison, the Chunnin guards were a bit nervous. Something had made the prisoners somewhat... restless? They seemed excited about something, and no one knew what it was. Tsuchi, a twenty-year old Chunnin stood on the bottom floor of D-Block, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Hey, Ko, aren't you done yet?"

"Relax," Kodachi, Tsuchi's old classmate, said as he stood in front of one of the cells, peeking into it. "We have to make sure all the prisoners are here. Don't worry so much, there's no chance of them getting out of here."

"I suppose..." Tsuchi said, but he was still nervous. The prison was even scarier at night. How the hell did he end up guarding this place? He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? Shaking his head, he gave a nervous chuckle. "Some Chunnin I am, huh? Afraid of people behind bars. Right, Ko?"

There was no answer. Looking up, Tsuchi didn't see Kodachi anywhere. He gulped and looked around.

"Ko? Ko! Come on, man, that's not funny!"

A scream echoed through D-Block, as a shadow flew off the catwalk on the fourth floor. The shadow smashed into the ground with a sickening crunch. The scream woke up the prisoners, and Tsuchi rushed up to the form on the floor, his eyes widening when he saw the mangled form of Kodachi, his dead eyes wide with fear.

"K-Ko..."

"Woo! Dead guard!" came a voice from one of the cells. One by one, the prisoners started cheering and calling Tsuchi names. Then, they started chanting.

"BANE! BANE! BANE! BANE! BANE!"

"B-Bane?" Tsuchi asked, wondering what the hell they meant by that. He stood up straight and looked around. He had to go get backup. The prison had been breached. Spinning around, he made to run, but bumped into one of the largest men he had ever seen! He was a six foot seven tall monster of a man, looking to be made up of pure muscle.

The man lashed out, wrapping his hands around Tsuchi's throat and lifting him up into the air.

"They're talking about me," the man said, and easily snapped Tsuchi's neck like a twig.

Bane dropped the man to the ground and looked around the cells. Behind him, Zombie, Tori, and Goken came down the stairs from C-Block, where the prisoners had already been released. Bane made a hand sign, and his companions split up, all of them moving around to start opening the cell doors to cheers from the prisoners.

Stage one of Bane's plan was complete. They would all know his name soon enough... and on that day, they would beg for mercy. They would scream his name. Scream it! He was Bane, Konoha's reckoning!

Bane left D-Block, headed through C through A, until he exited the prison, where a large amount of prisoners were waiting for him at the long bridge over the lava that surrounded the prison.

"Take your revenge on those that put you here!" Bane ordered the freed prisoners. "Let Konoha burn!"

The prisoners all cheered and rushed off, leaving Bane alone with his companions. Tori moved in closer.

"This isn't like you," Tori said, sounding confused. "You're smart enough to know that a bunch of brutes won't be able to bring Konoha down..."

"I know, but this way, I can study the Konoha ninja, attack patterns, defensive patterns, how they react, etcetera," Bane said as he started walking off. "This is merely for educational purposes."

–

Bane stood atop the Hokage Monument, watching as the ninjas scurried to detain all the prisoners that were causing trouble in the village, burning buildings, murdering villagers, etcetera. Bane's eyes took in everything. Despite their casual, carefree appearance, Konoha was always ready for an attack. It seemed as though nothing could catch them off-guard. Bane had to admit that this village was formidable. There was no wonder why Iwa, Kumo, and Suna all wanted it gone from this world.

"You there!" came a female voice from behind him, and he turned around to see a purple-haired woman wearing a long, tan trench coat, a brown mini skirt, and gray shin guards. Under her coat she wore nothing but mesh. "Who are you? Got lost on the way to an S&M party?"

Bane chuckled. "You're an amusing woman. I would have assumed that all the ninjas in the village would be out capturing the escaped convicts?"

"Oh, I am. I just saw some really suspicious guy up here, and I thought I'd have a look at him. You look even more suspicious up close," the woman said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Now, I ask again, who are you?"

"In time, you will come to know my name," Bane said simply.

Bane spun and made to jump off the Hokage Monument, but just then, snakes wrapped around his arms and legs, wrapping around them tightly.

"You're not going anywhere, hunk," the woman said, and Bane slowly tuned around to face her again, to see that the snakes were coming out of her sleeve. Now he recognized her. She was that girl from his orphanage, the girl who was just as much an outcast as he was. She was the snake lady Anko. "Not until I get some answers out of you."

Bane merely tilted his head to the side. Then, he grabbed one of the snakes and yanked it. Anko's eyes widened in surprise as she was pulled off her feet, losing her balance. In the time it took her to right herself, Bane had already turned on his Venom supplier, and his muscles grew at an insane rate, so big that the snakes actually started tearing from it, until they finally snapped.

Bane rushed forward as Anko whipped out a kunai. She slashed at him, but Bane caught her wrist and squeezed, a snap sounding through the air, accompanied by a scream from Anko.

As Anko was reeling from the pain in her wrist, Bane grabbed the back of her collar and hoisted her into the air, his other hand on her lower back as he held her over his head.

"I hope you can land on your feet, Anko-san," he said simply, before tossing the woman off the Hokage Monument. Then, he took off running, his Venom enhanced muscles making him run faster than most ninja.

"Hey, boss man!" came a voice, and Bane saw Tori come running out of the trees, looking a bit confused. "Why are we running?"

"I was seen," Bane said simply. "I will need to leave Konoha. In the meantime, you, Goken and Zombie will stay here and gather information. I shall be back."

"Got it," Tori said and broke off, heading back toward the village, while Bane charged into the woods, not to be seen in Konoha again for a while.

–

A massive explosion rocked the Solid Stone prison. Guards scurried to find out who or what had just blown up the western wall. Standing there in the dissipating smoke was the object of their nightmares. His face was covered by a weird mask, but none of the guards had forgotten that body build. Bane had returned.

Orders were shouted, and Bane simply walked right on in, turning the dial on the back of his hand and pumped the Venom straight into his body. With his enhanced strength, size, speed and agility, he easily stopped any attack on his person, breaking necks, jaws, noses, skulls and backs whenever anyone got within reach of him.

His riot where he was sent to isolation had been pretty brutal, but this was even more so. Grabbing one of the ninja guards by the foot, he swung the man like a weapon, smashing open another man's skull with the help of the hitai-ate on his man-turned-weapon.

Hoisting the man over his head, he bent the man backwards, easily snapping his spine, before dropping him to the ground to punch another man's skull open.

"WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS!" one man yelled as he charged forward, only to get backhanded by Bane, sending him flying.

Bane charged into the prison and started smashing through wall after all, until he got to A-Block. Quickly dispatching the guards in there, Bane rallied the prisoners to overpower the rest of the guards as they continued to B-Block. So it continued from B- to D-Block, and the prisoners rallied to Bane, who raised his fist into the air to loud cheers.

"Brothers!" Bane said as he got up onto a table on the bottom floor of D-Block, looking over the prisoners gathered on all the floors. "I have need for your aid! I need allies in a great endeavor! I intend to destroy Konoha, and I need your help to do it. Following Konoha is Iwa, Kumo, Suna, and Kiri! WHO'S WITH ME?" he yelled, raising his fist into the air again. The prisoners gave roars of approval, raising their fists into the air again.

Bane smirked behind his mask as he led his new 'gang' out of the Solid Stone prison. Things were coming along nicely. Now he had two large groups of ninjas, one group who he knew were extremely dangerous, another who was good enough to be ninja, at least. Not to mention that he had a spy network thanks to the Fuuma clan and the men he had released from their imprisonment in Orochimaru's base.

Bane traveled with his gang through Fire Country, all the way to Wave, which he had heard was in some trouble from the shipping magnate Gatou, who was sucking the country dry. He was a leech that would have to be removed.

It wasn't hard for Bane to control his gang. They were many, and they were all murderers, rapists, psychos, sadists, and the like, yet they all looked up to Bane, and probably wouldn't dare getting out of line.

Had anyone seen them, they would have made for a strange sight, all of them wearing the purple inmate uniform of Solid Stone, led by a man wearing a very strange mask.

Now, they were in Wave, taking boats to the cluster of tiny islands, as the bridge that went from Fire Country to Wave wasn't complete. As soon as they reached Wave, the inmates were ordered to find new clothes, while Bane scouted out the city.

In essence, it wasn't anything to brag about. The stores had nothing to sell, the people were wearing rags, begging for work in the streets. The only ones who seemed well-off were a few people here and there, all of them carrying weapons. No doubt, they were thugs working for Gatou.

Bane saw these people, and he felt something akin to pity for them, with a bit of disgust. He didn't want to see these people like this, imprisoned in this country, to scared to leave or rebel, and for good reason, as they no doubt would be killed for it. Fear... The city was ripe with it...

Rolling his shoulders, Bane followed one of the thugs he found into a forest, where three huge treehouses were suspended in the air by wires, with a single ladder leading up to the biggest treehouse, and walkways connecting it to the other two. So, this was Gatou's place, huh? Bane crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the largest treehouse, his eyes narrowing.

"Hey!" came a voice from behind him. "Who are you? This place is off-limits!"

Bane turned around to find a scarred thug approaching him. The thug paused for a second when he came close enough to take in Bane's actual size. He gulped, but then grabbed the hilt of the sword sheathed at his hip.

"Talk now, or you'll be half the man you used to be!"

Bane gave a chuckle. "You may try."

The thug made to unsheathe his sword, but before he could even pull it an inch, he had already found Bane's hand wrapped around his wrist, while Bane's other hand wrapped around his throat, lifting him into the air.

"Weapons will only get you so far. A man is only as strong as his body, and you... are weak."

With that, Bane crushed the man's throat and let him drop to the ground.

Bane turned back to Gatou's house and slowly approached it. He was formulating a plan while he was walking, and he soon came up with one. He climbed the ladder and found himself in a large, circular room decorated with all kinds of fancy art and statues, probably bought for drug money. Money that would soon be Bane's.

There were also about five thugs lounging in couches in the room, drinking alcohol and laughing. The laughing abruptly stopped when they spotted Bane, and they scrambled to their feet, grabbing their weapons.

"Who are you?" one of them demanded. Bane didn't answer. Instead, he just looked around at the four doors in the room. Which one would lead to Gatou?

"Hey! The man asked ya a question!" another thug said, holding a knife in his hand. "Answer 'im, chump!"

"Take me to Gatou," Bane said, ignoring the thugs. Seeing that they were about to argue, he spoke before they could do so, "This can play out in two ways. Either you take me to Gatou, or I can force my way there. It's your choice, and believe me when I say..." Bane's hand slowly moved to rest on the Venom dial on the back of his hand. "...the latter will be so much more painful for you..."

The thugs didn't answer. Instead, they just charged. Bane's muscles tensed, and he turned the dial.

"So be it..." he muttered as his muscles grew.

–

The door to Gatou's office exploded as two men were sent flying through it, crashing into Gatou's desk and sliding down on the floor, their necks twisted one-eighty degrees. In the doorway stood the most terrifying man Gatou had ever seen, wearing a very intimidating mask. Zouri and Waraji, standing on either side of the door, charged at the intruder, only for the man to grab Zouri and slam him into Waraji, knocking them both out.

Gatou cowered in his chair, while the man approached the desk.

"Your security is lax."

"Y-You don't say?" Gatou asked, cursing himself for faltering in the presence of this man. The man turned a dial on the back of his glove, and his muscles started shrinking down to somewhat normal size, but still bigger than any man Gatou had ever seen. The man himself shrunk down from a menacing seven feet to six foot seven inches, and he slammed his hands down on Gatou's desk, making the tiny man jump in fright.

"I am Bane," the man said, and even though Gatou could only see himself reflected in those red eyes of the mask, he could still feel the man staring intently at him. "I'm a new player in this town."

"Well, joke's on you, Dane!" Gatou said, regaining some of his courage at the prospect of the fate of Wave Country. "This country is already bled dry! There's nothing for you to get!"

The man, Dane, reached over the desk and grabbed Gatou's collar, hoisting the man into the air and holding him a good five feet off the ground.

"It's Bane!" the man growled, and Gatou gulped, his courage pouring out of him like his urine.

"B-Bane! I got it!" Gatou squealed, thrashing in the man's grip, trying to ignore the burning embarrassment he felt at emptying his bladder from fright.

Bane threw the man back into his chair again and tapped his finger against the desk.

"You will sign all your belongings over to me, now, and I will let you go."

"Y-You can't touch me! I-I have an army!" Gatou said, panicking now. It was true, he had an army, but he didn't have them there at the moment. Bane didn't seem intimidated in the least. Instead, he leaned closer over the desk, giving off a dark chuckle.

"So do I, and trust me when I say that my army is stronger than yours."

Gatou was shivering. He didn't want to part with his business and his money, but then again, he really valued his life... Without another word, he signed everything over to the hulking figure across from him. Bane thanked him, and then grabbed his collar, hoisting him into the air again.

"Y-You said you'd let me go!"

"I will," Bane said, walking over to the open window and holding Gatou out of it. "I never, however, specified when or where. Goodbye, Gatou."

With that, Bane dropped Gatou, who gave off a terrified scream as he fell a hundred and sixty feet straight down into the hard ground, landing on his head and snapping his neck, spine, and several other bones in his body.

–

**So, what do you think? Please leave a review letting me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, third chapter is up! Hopefully, this is a little better, and not as rushed as the last chapter. I tried my best, so please let me know what you think!**

–

"So, you're the new boss here?" a man asked, standing in front of Bane's new desk, which was once Gatou's. The man was a tall, menacing-looking man with a Kiri headband, and a huge sword on his back. It was none other than Momochi Zabuza. Next to him stood a young boy around Bane's age, who looked very much like a girl.

"That's right," Bane said with a nod. "And I called you here to tell you that your contract with Gatou is now null."

"Now, wait a minute," Zabuza said, glaring at Bane. "I was hired to kill that bridge builder. The last attack didn't go down too well, but I'll kill Kakashi this time."

"Kakashi?" Bane asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. "Not Hatake Kakashi of Konoha? The Copy Ninja?"

"That's the one," Zabuza said.

"Well, unfortunately for you, you won't get a rematch," Bane said simply. "The bridge is crucial for my plans, and I need it completed. If you want, however, I can hire you to work for me."

"Work for you?" Zabuza asked, arching an eyebrow. "What would you have me do, if not kill the bridge builder?"

"I want you to be my General," Bane said. He rose from his chair. "You see, I recently freed the inmates of Solid Stone, and I am planning on going to war. I need Generals, and you have a reputation for being a very powerful ninja."

"So, you want me to lead an army?"

"Part of a smaller army, yes," Bane said as he walked around the desk to walk up to the window he'd dropped Gatou from, looking out into the woods. "I will recruit more and more ninja, and when I have, I will crush Konoha, and all the other Major Villages, and from the chaos, a new order shall rise." Bane turned to look at Zabuza, who looked to be listening intently. "My order."

"That sounds well and good, muscle-man," Zabuza said, no doubt trying to be insulting, but Bane was far above such things. "But you forgot one little detail."

"And what's that?" Bane asked, looking over his shoulder at Zabuza, who crossed his arms.

"The Five Great Villages also have their own armies."

Bane chuckled and turned back to the window. "Insignificant insects. They are easily studied and defeated."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself."

"I am awfully sure of myself," Bane said as he turned to Zabuza again. "Are you in or out?"

"What if I say no?"

"Then you are free to leave, but without any money."

Zabuza looked contemplative. "I'm going to need some time to think about this."

"Understandable," Bane said with a nod. "You may stay here until you make your decision."

Zabuza nodded and left the office with the boy, who had stayed silent that whole time. Bane watched them leave, then waited. As he predicted, the door opened not even ten minutes later, and Zabuza came back in. Bane could see that he was grinning under the bandages covering the lower half of his face.

"You must be crazy," Zabuza said, not having the boy with him this time. "But I guess I'm even crazier, because I'm going to accept. I'll work for you."

"Good," Bane said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You'll be Mizukage."

Zabuza's eyes widened in shock. Bane tilted his head to the side.

"I have read up on you, Momochi Zabuza. Nine years ago, you failed a coup d'état, and subsequently fled Kiri. Now, you are doing jobs like the one you did for Gatou in order to raise enough money to attempt another coup."

"That last part isn't in any of the Bingo books," Zabuza said, tilting his head to the side. "How did you know?"

"There could be no other reason," Bane said simply. He was more than smart enough to figure that one out. Zabuza wanted only what was best for Kiri, Bane knew that, and therefore Zabuza would be the best choice for Mizukage after the rebuilding of the village.

–

Uchiha Sasuke sat in his house in the Uchiha Quarter of Konoha. The Quarter, which had once been so full of life, was now empty, and quiet. Sasuke, who usually enjoyed peace and quiet, hated the quiet of the Uchiha Quarter.

Originally, all Sasuke had been able to think about was getting revenge on his brother. However, at one point, he had sat down and really thought about it. He had wanted to gain power to kill Itachi, for slaughtering the clan. However, how low had he been willing to sink to get that power? No, that was not a life Sasuke wanted. He needed to stay in Konoha, stay a loyal ninja, because that was what his brother wasn't. Not to mention that he needed to rebuild the Uchiha clan.

So, what did Sasuke do with the time that was usually spent plotting to kill Itachi? He trained. His trained his body as much as he could, trained with his jutsu and trained until he dropped. He was now one of the elite, an excellent ninja, who had already been made jounin in his young age of sixteen. Kakashi, his original teacher, was off on a mission to Wave to guard a bridge builder with Sasuke's old teammate, Sakura, who was now a chunnin.

There were still many inmates from the Correctional Facility still at large, hiding in Konoha, and someone had to take them down. Therefore, Sasuke donned the new suit he'd had made. It consisted of a black full body Kevlar-weave suit with black plating on his arms, legs, chest, abdomen and back. Attached to the plates on his forearms were three long, black blades, and attached to the suit was a black face mask that covered the lower half of his face, much like Kakashi's. He also wore a utility belt with many pouches.

Looking himself in the mirror, Sasuke nodded and pulled his face mask up to cover his face, and then jumped out the window to patrol the village. He had work to do.

–

"Zombie," Bane said, meeting his first subordinate outside Gatou's treehouse. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay in Konoha and lay low? You're taking a big risk, coming here."

"I have news, Bane," Zombie said as he reached into a pouch on his hip, taking out a steel box and opening it, to show five vials of a green liquid. "The refined Venom. It's three times as potent, but also twice as addictive. You will need to take it every twelve hours, or you'll go into serious withdrawal."

"You could have just sent it to me," Bane said, and Zombie shook his head.

"There's more, Bane," he said as he gestured for the ladder. Bane nodded, and the two made their way up into the treehouse, heading to Bane's office, where they both sat down. "There is someone in Konoha, someone we have only just started hearing about from Bird's contacts," he said, setting the steel box down on Bane's desk. "He is Uchiha Sasuke. He runs around the village solving crimes and beating criminals to a pulp. He is strong, and the criminal underworld is scared of him."

"Is that so? Konoha must see him as something of a hero, then?"

"That's right," Zombie said with a nod. Bane crossed his arms and hummed, deep in thought. Zombie tilted his head to the side. "What are you planning?"

"In order to defeat Konoha, we must break their spirit. In order to break their spirits, we must break their symbols of hope. Sasuke is one such symbol. _**I will break him!**_"

Zombie grinned.

That night, Mitarashi Anko could be seen standing in front of the Hokage's desk, her hand his a cast. The Sandaime was slowly puffing on his pipe, staring hard at Anko.

"He comes from this village, you say?"

"I believe so," Anko said with a nod. "He knew where the secret Correctional Facility was, and he spoke to me as though he knew me."

The Sandaime hummed as he rose from his chair, looking out the window. It was nighttime. Somewhere out there, Sasuke was currently... Wait, scratch that...

"Did you hear that?" the Sandaime asked suddenly, and Anko jumped in shock when none other than Sasuke dropped from the ceiling, landing next to her decked out in his crime fighter outfit.

"I heard," Sasuke said simply. "I will go to the archives, check the public records for anyone matching his description, see if I can't find a name."

"Good," the Sandaime said with a nod. "Have the inmates revealed anything?" he asked Anko, who shook her head.

"Neither Ibiki nor I can get any information out of them. It seems that they are either fiercely loyal or deathly afraid of the man who let them out. But I suspect that it's the same man who broke my wrist."

"I see. Anko, I have a mission for you," the Sandaime said as he turned away from the window, to see that Sasuke was gone. "It seems that Gatou of the Gatou Shipping Company, a well-known drug dealer, died sometime a few days ago. His body was broken in several places, strung up. Not to mention that a new gang seems to have moved into Wave, and the Solid Stone prison in Rock Country was demolished. I think these events are somehow connected, and I would like for you to investigate it."

"Wave?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't Kakashi there? Can't he investigate it?"

"Kakashi is busy protecting the bridge builder who is currently building a bridge to the mainland," Sarutobi said, shaking his head. "He cannot do this. Therefore, I'm sending you. Find out who the leader of this new gang is, and if you find that it is the same man who released the prisoners from the Correctional Facility, see if you cannot get at least a name."

"I will do as you ask, Hokage-sama," Anko said with a bow of her head, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Now alone, the Sandaime turned back to the window and stared out at the village.

"Who are you?"

–

Sasuke sat in the archives, sipping a cup of tea with his face mask pulled down. He had a lot of files to go through. The archives had files on all the villagers, past and present, so there were a _lot_ of files. He had been in the archives for the last three hours, going through file after file.

If there was one thing Sasuke had learned throughout the years, it was patience. Whereas someone else would have long since tired of looking through all these files, Sasuke could go on for another ten hours if he had to. He probably _did_ have to do that. There were a lot of files left to go through, after all.

"Hm?" Sasuke said suddenly, picking up another file and opening it. "Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked to himself as he looked through the file. Uzumaki Naruto, son of Uzumaki Kushina and the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Kidnapped at age four, suspected to be Iwa ninjas.

"Age four..." Sasuke muttered. What could the Iwa ninjas have wanted with a four-year old? If they wanted to punish him, wouldn't they have waited until he was older and could handle torture and interrogation better, where he could deal with pain on a level where he wouldn't die from shock just a few minutes into the torture?

Curious...

Rubbing his eyes, Sasuke took another sip of tea and continued looking through Uzumaki Naruto's file. He lived at Konoha's Heart Orphanage, and apparently took to speaking very well at an early age. He was incredibly smart for his age, and was all set to be taught how to read and write just a couple of days before he was kidnapped. No doubt, he would have become an amazing ninja, who Sasuke probably would have been proud to call a comrade.

Another display of the evils of this world, to kidnap a four-year old, take him away from his home and put him through Kami knows what.

It made Sasuke's blood boil at the thought of it, and he swore then and there that he would avenge Uzumaki Naruto, since no one else seemed to have wanted to.

The next day, in Wave, Bane sat behind his desk, loading his Venom supplier with the refined Venom formula. This would make him even stronger than before, but would make him even more of a slave to the Venom. It was a risk he was willing to take, as he needed to be as strong as he possibly could be in order to wage war against the Hidden Villages. If what he'd heard from Tori was true, then just the Raikage would be a tough opponent, as the man was a musclebound powerhouse, just like Bane. Of course, no one was stronger than Bane, but one very important lesson Bane had learned in Solid Stone was to always overestimate his opponents.

"Bane," came Zabuza's voice as the man entered with his partner, who Bane had learned was named Haku. "Our soldiers are reporting that another Konoha ninja entered Wave just an hour ago," Zabuza said. "She has already started asking the villagers questions about us."

"She?" Bane asked curiously. "What does she look like?"

"Purple hair, tan trench coat, very short skirt, quite beautiful, to tell the truth," Zabuza described the woman, and Bane put a hand on his chin in thought.

"So, the Sandaime sent Anko-san to investigate us... I'd imagine her wrist hasn't properly healed yet," Bane said as he rose to his feet. "Capture her, and bring her to me. I want to interrogate her myself."

"Very well," Zabuza said, and left with Haku.

Three hours later, Anko was following a lead. She had heard that Gatou's old house was somewhere in this forest, and without a doubt, the leader of the new gang that moved in probably took over the place.

In the distance, she could see the treehouse. She started approaching it slowly, but the closer she got, the thicker a mist that just rolled in seemed to become.

"Eight choices..." a voice sounded through the mist, making Anko freeze as she whipped out a kunai with her good hand. "Liver, lungs, spine, clevical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart... So... which vital spot should I go for?"

Anko tensed. She'd really hoped she wouldn't be discovered. So much for that plan... Before she could do anything, however, two senbon needles came flying out of the mist, piercing her neck. Anko froze, then collapsed, wide-eyed, to the ground, not moving a muscle.

"I put her in a near-death state," came Haku's voice through the mist as he blurred into view next to Anko with Zabuza. "She shouldn't be able to move while Bane interrogates him, Zabuza-san."

"Good work, Haku," Zabuza said as he hoisted Anko onto his shoulder, dispelling the mist and moving off toward the treehouse.

–

"So, did you find anything?" the Sandaime asked that night, sitting in his office. Sasuke blurred into view in front of his desk, and shook his head.

"No one in the ninja files or civilian files match the man's description," Sasuke said with a sigh. "Then again, without anyone having seen his face..."

"He could have trained his body to be unrecognizable, yes," Sandaime continued where Sasuke trailed off, nodding. "I had also considered that possibility, but I was hoping that hadn't been the case."

"Hokage-sama, I came upon a peculiar file, while I was looking through the archives," Sasuke said, and the Sandaime raised an eyebrow, puffing on his pipe.

"And whose file was that?"

"Uzumaki Naruto's file, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said, seeing the Sandaime tense at the name.

"Ah," the Sandaime said, and he sounded even older than he looked. "Yes, I thought you might stumble upon his file..."

"Do you know what happened to him after he was kidnapped? The file didn't say."

"No, I don't know. No one knows what happened to Naruto-kun." The Sandaime sighed and set down his pipe on his desk, wiping away a tear that had threatened to spill from his eye. "Poor Naruto-kun never had a chance at life... It was unfair what happened to him."

"With his father having made so many enemies in Iwa, why wasn't Naruto's identity kept secret?" Sasuke asked curiously. The Sandaime was a smart man, and he should have anticipated that if Naruto's identity was made public, Iwa would was to attack the Yondaime by assassinating or kidnapping his son.

"Because I wanted the villagers to treat the boy kindly," the Sandaime said. "What I tell you now must never leave this office, do you understand, Sasuke?"

Sasuke snapped to attention, knowing that the Sandaime wanted to tell him something important, and when the Sandaime Hokage wanted to tell you something important, you listened.

"I understand, Hokage-sama."

"On the day Naruto was born, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked this village. Naruto's father, unable to kill the beast, did the only thing he could do. He sealed the beast into his newborn son," the Sandaime explained, seeing Sasuke's eyes widen in surprise. "The Yondaime wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero, but jinchuuriki, as demon vessels are called, are mostly treated badly. I announced Naruto's status as the Yondaime's son in the hope of having the villagers treat him better. It worked, somewhat. The villagers were good at concealing their hatred of Naruto, but the poor boy still received his fair share of glares from the villagers. No child should have to suffer through that."

"And no one knows what happened after he was kidnapped?" Sasuke asked, and the Sandaime shook his head.

"All we know is that the tracks led into Rock Country. After that, the tracker team lost the kidnappers' trail."

"I would like to know what happened to him," Sasuke said. "Do I have your permission to infiltrate Iwa?"

The Sandaime's eyes widened. If Sasuke was caught, it could mean war. Shaking his head, he said, "No, I will not risk a war simply to find out what happened to Naruto-kun, no matter how much I want to know. I have to think about the village."

"Very well," Sasuke said, nodding. He wasn't happy about not being able to investigate, but he wouldn't disregard an order from the Hokage. Giving a salute, he blurred out of sight.

–

Anko woke up to a slap to her face, finding herself unable to move. Grunting, she strained to move a muscle, any muscle, but to no avail. She opened her eyes and found herself tied to a chair in a dark room. Standing in front of her was none other than the musclebound, mask-wearing man who had broken her wrist.

"Hello, Anko," the man said as he crossed his massive arms over his chest.

"Do I know you?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow. She had been taught to never show fear in the face of an enemy, and being a torture and interrogation expert, she was certain that there was nothing they could do to her that would surprise her in the slightest. She knew all the tricks in the book, both physical and psychological.

"Once, perhaps," the man said with a nod. "Now, I am a different man entirely. I am guessing you haven't found out my name yet?"

"No," Anko said, shaking her head. "Why? Should we have?"

"If you had but looked in the right places, or asked the right questions," the man said simply. "Now, what is your purpose here in Wave?"

"Your mother sent me," Anko said with a smirk. "She sent me to tell you that she's really disappointed in you."

"That's funny," the man said with no amusement whatsoever in his voice. He took a step toward her and wrapped a hand around her throat, lifting her up into the air, chair and all. "You're a funny girl. Now if you don't tell me, I might give you to my men who, in a way I can only describe as deeply pornographic, would kill you. But lucky for you, I like you, and I don't want the karma of your death on my soul."

Anko breathed a sigh of relief despite herself, as the man set her down. Then, he turned his back on her.

"But then again, maybe I don't believe in karma, so..."

All around her, men started coming out of the shadows as the musclebound man walked away. Anko's eyes widened. Alright, so maybe she couldn't handle _all_ the tricks in the book.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Anko exclaimed, stopping the man in his tracks. "Alright, alright... I was sent here to investigate your little gang."

The man turned to Anko, crossing his arms again. "Go on."

"I was to find out your name, that's all."

"That's all?"

"That's all," Anko repeated, nodding.

"I find it hard to believe that the Sandaime Hokage would send someone of your skill to merely find out someone's name," the man said coldly.

"It's the truth, I swear!" Anko said truthfully, praying to whatever deity was out there that he believed her. The man tilted his head to the side as he stared down at Anko, who started sweating.

"I believe you," the man said finally, and Anko breathed a sigh of relief. "I suppose all that remains is for you to complete your mission. I am Bane. I am the man who will burn Konoha to the ground," he said, making Anko's eyes widen. "Konoha has started rotting from corruption and greed. It needs a cleansing fire to rise and purge it."

"And you're that fire?" Anko asked, deciding to milk this Bane character for information, now that he seemed talkative. "And how do you propose to do that? Or more important, why?"

"Why?" Bane asked, humming. "The answer is very simple, yet my second reason is very selfish. The first reason, you've already heard, Konoha is rotting. The second is that the people of Konoha are slaves to their hatred. I broke free of their chains. I never returned as my old self."

"Old self?"

Bane chuckled. "If I told you about my old self, I could never let you leave."

"So... you're planning on letting me leave?" Anko asked, surprised, and Bane nodded.

"The Sandaime wants to know my name, I'll allow you to let him know it. The pieces of the puzzle will soon fall into place for him. He will realize the mistakes of the past, and he will wallow in his misery."

"Why do you hate the Sandaime so much?" Anko asked, and Bane straightened up, his muscles flexing threateningly, which made Anko gulp, afraid that she had crossed some invisible line.

"Because he helped make me what I am," Bane said simply, then turned his back on Anko. "You should get some rest. Being put in a near-death state is straining on the body."

With that, he and the men in the room left.

–

Two days later found Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, standing in front of the Sandaime Hokage's desk with his student, the chunnin Haruno Sakura, standing next to him.

"The mission, although it was upped to A-rank, was a success, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, and the Sandaime nodded.

"And Anko?"

"Anko never rendezvoused with us," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "It is my belief that she is either still tracking the gang, or..."

"Or she was captured," the Sandaime finished for Kakashi, who nodded in agreement. "That is unfortunate. But Anko is a skilled ninja. I am sure she can get herself out of any trouble. We need to have faith in her."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said with another nod.

"Welcome back, Sasuke," the Sandaime said suddenly, and both Kakashi and Sakura jumped when Sasuke blurred into view in front of them.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with a smile. Sasuke glanced at her to acknowledge her greeting, then looked to the Sandaime.

"Where have you been?" the Sandaime asked, and Sasuke straightened up, his head held high.

"I selfishly disregarded your orders, Hokage-sama, and went to Rock Country," he said, and the Sandaime sighed, puffing on his pipe.

"As expected. Please, continue."

"My investigation led me to Iwa, which I infiltrated and searched thoroughly. I found information on Uzumaki Naruto in their archives, under the guise of one of their ninja," Sasuke said, making Kakashi and the Sandaime go wide-eyed. Sasuke's eyes were serious. "Hokage-sama... they sent him to Solid Stone."

Kakashi and the Sandaime's eyes went, if possible, even wider, and Sakura gasped in shock. She had no idea who this Uzumaki Naruto was, but she had heard of Solid Stone, and she had heard nothing pleasant about it...

–

**So, what do you think? Please leave a review letting me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, fourth chapter is up! This is a bit shorter than the last, and after such a long time, you deserve more, but I'm still in the planning process, so the updates will be slow.**

–

Solid Stone... There was that name again. The Sandaime Hokage sat behind his desk, puffing on his pipe in thought. Sasuke had already left, and was probably out beating criminals to a pulp as usual. Usually, the Sandaime would spend his evenings worrying about Sasuke, but now, someone else was on his mind.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Had he survived being thrown into Solid Stone? If he had, why hadn't he come home now that the prison was destroyed? Maybe he no longer remembered his home? Or maybe... Maybe he really was dead?

No, he couldn't think like that. Naruto was an Uzumaki, and they were amazing at surviving. He wouldn't be surprised if there were still some Uzumakis left out there in the world. They had a knack for surviving.

But what could have happened to Naruto, after he was sent to Solid Stone? The Sandaime couldn't help but worry when a shiver went down his spine as he thought about this.

–

"What happened to you, Bane?" Anko asked as she sat in Bane's office, tied to the same chair as before, having been carried into the office by two grumpy-looking men. "What made you into the man you are today?"

She had to get him talking, get him to warm up to her. If she lent a sympathetic ear, maybe he'd take a liking to her, and would ensure she could get home without any injuries.

"I told you that if you found out about the old me, you'd never be able to leave," Bane said simply, looking up from the papers on his desk. For a musclebound brute, he sure seemed awfully smart, smarter than any dumb muscle Anko had ever met. He carried himself like some dumb muscle, but the way he talked, the way he acted, it was all different. He spoke like someone with enough IQ to rival the Sandaime Hokage.

"Maybe I don't want to leave?" Anko suggested, tilting her head to the side with a smirk on her face. "Maybe I want to stay and find out more about you?"

Bane stared at Anko for a few moments. Then, he chuckled. "Expect me to believe that?"

Anko shrugged as best she could. "Worth a try, no?" Bane shrugged as well, then went back to reading through the documents. Anko sat there silently for a while. Then, she cleared her throat. "Um, did you need me for something?"

"Yes, I would like to know your opinion of Konoha," Bane said without looking up.

"Why would you want to know that?" Anko asked, getting another shrug from Bane.

"I just want to know if you love it as little as it loves you."

"Little?" Anko asked, and Bane nodded.

"Yes, little," he said and reached into his desk. He took out a scroll and set it down on the desk, staring at Anko. Or at least she thought he did. It was a little hard to tell with the reflective lenses on the mask.

"What's that?"

"That's an execution order, signed by the Sandaime Hokage," Bane said simply, unrolling the scroll so that Anko could read it, her eyes widening when she did. The scroll spoke of Anko, and how the ANBU who were assigned to watch her (she didn't know she had anyone watching her) were to execute Anko on the spot if her Curse Seal showed any sign of going out of control. Anko tried to convince herself that this scroll was a fake, but if it was, then it was a very, very good fake, considering that it even had the Sandaime's seal on it. But why would he...?

"Konoha is rotting," Bane said. "The Sandaime Hokage is no longer anything more than a figurehead. The Council holds all the power. The Sandaime has lost his will to fight, and for that, he must be punished. Konoha is no longer any more than a shell of what it once was, and must be purged."

Anko was still staring in shock at the scroll, and Bane got up from his chair, moving around the desk to stand next to Anko, staring down at her.

"From me, you will never get anything other than the truth. From Konoha, you will get lies, glares, and hatred. I know what it was like for you at the orphanage, Anko. Now, I'm offering you an escape from Konoha, a way out of the corruption, and into my world, the world of an enemy of Konoha. Think about this offer. If you join me, you will get more than you could ever dream of."

With that, Bane moved to the door, knocking twice. The door opened, and the two dumb brutes came in, picking up the numb Anko's chair with her in it, before leaving.

–

When Anko was next brought in to Bane's office, she received some shocking news.

"I'm... being released?" she asked in shock, to which Bane nodded. "But... what about the information I've found? Doesn't that worry you?"

"You speak as if you have information that I haven't willingly given you," Bane said simply as one of the two dumb brutes untied Anko. "I will release you, because I want the Sandaime Hokage to know where I am. I want him to know my name. I dare him to come find me. I dare him to send his supposedly powerful ninja. I will break the lot of them."

Anko gulped, slowly getting out of the chair as Bane walked around the desk to stand in front of her, looking down at her.

"But then... I don't think you will reveal my location to the Hokage."

"Oh yeah?" Anko asked. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you know what he's like now. You know what he's capable of, and you don't trust him the way you once did," Bane said simply, making Anko's eyes widen. "You are all too easy to read, Anko-san. Now, go back to Konoha. If you are interested in joining me, simply put an X on your door. I'll find out."

Anko gulped as she was led out of the room by the two dumb brutes. Bane was left staring at the door as it closed, and Zabuza came out of the shadows in one of the corners of the office.

"Do you really think she won't give up your position?"

"If she does, she's signing her death warrant, and she is not so stupid as to do so," Bane said, his hands behind his back. He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling. "Can you feel it, Zabuza?"

Zabuza nodded as he stared at the door. "The fire rises."

And so, three days later found Anko standing in the Sandaime's office, with Sasuke standing off to the side, sitting in on the meeting.

"His name is Bane, and he was the man who released the Correctional Facility inmates," she told the old man, who thoughtfully puffed on his pipe. Anko took this moment to ponder everything she had learned. Should she tell the old man? Could she?

"Bane..." the Sandaime mumbled. "That name somehow seems familiar to me... yet so foreign at the same time."

"Did you learn anything else?" Sasuke asked in his usual no-nonsense tone of voice.

"Not much. I know now that he's from Konoha, I know that for certain. I observed him in the street, and listened in on a conversation he had with one of his underlings," Anko lied, not really knowing why she did so. "He holds a serious grudge against you for some reason, Hokage-sama."

"Does he indeed?" the Sandaime asked. "You never found out where he is hiding out?"

"Somewhere in Wave, I know that much, but I couldn't find out anything else."

"Very good, Anko, at least we found out his name," the Sandaime said, nodding. Anko gave a bow, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

As soon as she got home, Anko stopped at her front door and gulped. The Sandaime, the man who seemed to love everyone in the village, had approved an order to have her killed should her Curse Seal go haywire... She reached into the pocket of her coat and fished out a piece of white chalk. She took a deep breath, then pocketed the chalk again, before heading inside.

The next day, a small X could be seen drawn on her front door...

–

Three days later, Uchiha Sasuke was hopping from roof to roof, his mind on other matters than the petty crimes in Konoha. His mind was on this Bane character, who seemed to have a great grudge against Konoha.

But why?

That was the question, wasn't it? Why did Bane have such a grudge? Had Konoha done something to him in the past? Was he a foreigner who had been wronged? And what was Bane's interest in Solid Stone? All the pieces were connected, he just knew it... but how? How were they connected?

Something caught Sasuke's eye, and he dropped from the roof he was on, only to see something that made his eyes widen.

Standing in the middle of the street, his arms crossed, was none other than Bane, and Sasuke had to admit that Anko's description of him being big hadn't done the man justice. He was huge!

"Uchiha Sasuke, I've been looking for you," Bane said as he uncrossed his arms, his hand going for a dial on the back of his left hand, something that made Sasuke raise an eyebrow.

"You must be Bane," Sasuke said, and the man chuckled, tilting his head to the side, which caused his neck to let out several loud cracks.

"I see Mitarashi Anko-san was good enough to tell you my name. However, from the lack of ninjas attacking in the last few days, I take it she never revealed my location to you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened again in surprise. Anko knew where the man was located? But...

"No doubt, she told you that she didn't know where my hideout is? For that, I am grateful."

"Shouldn't have told me that," Sasuke said, taking a fighting stance. "Another prisoner for the Correctional Facility."

"Oh, but you won't get the chance to tell anyone of Anko's betrayal."

"Won't I?"

"No, you will be much to busy struggling for your life to do any such thing, I'm afraid, Sasuke-san," Bane said simply. Then, he turned the dial.

A green liquid started to pump into Bane's head, and the man started growing. His muscles bulged to an incredible size, and his body itself grew a foot, a foot and a half.

But a body like that, there was no way he'd have enough speed to-

Sasuke's eyes widened, as Bane had already closed the distance between them and thrown a punch at him. Sasuke barely dodged, and countered with a punch to the gut, only for his eyes to widen again, this time in pain, as it felt like punching steel.

"And so we start off with underestimation..." Bane said, his hand closing around Sasuke's throat and lifting him into the air. Then, he pulled his free hand back and slugged Sasuke in the gut.

Sasuke spat saliva as all the air in his lungs were forcefully expelled, and as he gasped, he was once more punched, this time in the face, which sent him flying, landing with a thud in the dirt and skidding a good ten feet.

"You are used to the petty criminals of Konoha, and therefore expect me to be the same," Bane said, slowly walking toward Sasuke, who flipped to his feet. "Fight me like a ninja."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and charged at Bane with a flurry of attacks, all of which were easily blocked. Bane caught the last punch, staring down at Sasuke.

"I confess myself disappointed, Uchiha Sasuke-san," he said, before viciously beating Sasuke into the ground. He grabbed Sasuke by the throat again and lifted him into the air. "You fight like a man with nothing to lose. But you see, everyone has something to lose, and when you realize that... I will break you."

A kunai appeared in Sasuke's hand, and he slashed toward the tube sticking out of the back of Bane's head, but Bane's free hand easily caught it, and he tilted his head to the side.

"Going for the Venom, how predictable," he said, then headbutted Sasuke in the face. He squeezed Sasuke's wrist, making him cry out in pain as a loud snap echoed through the dark street. "Observe, Sasuke... As I destroy your world..."

Bane raised his arm, and then choke-slammed Sasuke into the ground. Then, he put his free hand in a half-Ram seal. Sasuke's eyes widened. What was he going to do?

His answer came when a series of massive explosions rocked Konoha, coming from the south. Bane let go of Sasuke and backed off, before spreading his arms out, laughing.

"Your precious Uchiha Quarter!" he said, and it was all too obvious to Sasuke that the man was grinning underneath that infernal mask of his. Sasuke saw red.

"NO!" he roared as he shot to his feet, attacking Bane with another flurry of attacks, these ones packing even more power than before, but Bane just laughed as he blocked each attack, before countering, slugging Sasuke in the face with enough force to daze him, causing him to collapse to his knees, gasping.

"I was wondering what would break first," Bane said, grasping the back of Sasuke's neck and hoisting him in the air, holding him by his neck and the back of his pants, "your spirit... or... your body!" he said, pulling Sasuke down and slamming Sasuke's back against his knee, making Sasuke cry out in pain once more.

"Broken..." Bane said as Sasuke rolled off his knee, straightening up. "...and done..."

–

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying on a cot at the bottom of what seemed like a deep, wide well. It was so deep that Sasuke could hardly even see the light at the top of the well, even though it was wide enough to fit at least ten people, maybe even fifteen.

His back hurt something fierce, as did his wrist, and when he looked to the side, he saw none other than Bane sitting on a stool, now back to his normal size.

"Why..." Sasuke gulped, as talking hurt. "Why didn't you just... kill me?"

"You don't fear death," Bane said simply. "You crave it. Your punishment must be more severe."

"Punishment?" Sasuke asked, and Bane nodded.

"For years now, you have served Konoha to the best of your abilities, ridding its streets of the grimmer aspects of human nature. Your punishment is for postponing the inevitable destruction of Konoha."

"So... Torture, then?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes. But not of your body... of your soul."

"Where am I?"

"Where indeed?" Bane asked, and gestured for the floor. Sasuke painfully turned his head, and saw that it was covered in skeletons, all of the bodies broken in several places. "Gatou, of the Gatou Shipping Company, had this well built. He would throw the more uncooperative villagers down here. Why, you may ask? Hope. Every man who has ended up here has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... So simple... And like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, they have all died trying. There can be no true despair without hope, and so, while you glimpse up at the light, and pray to be able to climb out of here, just imagine what I will be doing to Konoha while you are away."

Sasuke gritted his teeth again, and Bane stood up, gesturing for a waterskin and a felt sack.

"Food, and water, to keep you from dying too early. Goodbye, Uchiha Sasuke-san."

With that, Bane started the long climb up the well, Sasuke watching him the whole time, trying to memorize which path Bane took. After all, rocks solid enough to hold Bane had to be solid enough to hold Sasuke.

As Bane came out of the well, he found Zouri and Waraji waiting for him.

"Inform the men. Operation Cleansing Fire begins," he told the two samurai, who nodded and ran off.

Bane cracked his knuckles as he looked back at the well.

"Have a good time, Sasuke-san."

Down in the well, Sasuke had managed to roll over and reached behind him to locate where his spine had been broken. One of the vertebrae was protruding from his back. How was he supposed to put it back in place?

Rolling, Sasuke painfully slammed his back down on the edge of the cot, screaming in pain as the vertebrae was slammed back into place. Then, he squirmed back onto the cot. He needed to lay straight for a long time, and get his spine back into order. Then, he'd climb out of there and find Bane...

–

Meanwhile, Bane was sitting in his office, with Anko sitting across from him, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"No doubt, you feel some shame for betraying your fellow Konoha citizens the way you did," Bane said, and Anko nodded. "Don't feel shame, my dear. Feel pride. You are about to take part in something that will go down in history as the greatest cleansing fire in the world. You will help eradicate the five major Hidden Villages."

"About that, I thought you only hated Konoha," Anko said, looking a little confused. "Why destroy all the other villages?"

"They are all the same. They are all corrupt, and eradicating the five major villages will result in a power vacuum. The minor villages will start warring to become the new major villages, and that is when I will strike at them as well. No Hidden Village will remain standing by the time I am done."

–

**So, what do you think? Please leave a review letting me know!**


End file.
